Hand-brake for railway-cars



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F. OCONNOR.

H-AND BRAKE FOR- RAILWAY CARS.

APPLxcATlON FILED NM26. 1920.

Patented Emy 5, E923 ,HilTB-BRAK' FR RAILWAY-BABE.

Application iiled Zbl-Tay 26,

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, doi-in F. OConrion, a

citizen of United States, residing at Chicago,

in the county of Cook and State of illinois,

have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in' Hand-Brakes 'forRailway- Cars, of .which the following is 'a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part ot this spec'ication.

lThis invention relates to improvements in hand brakes for railway cars.

The object ci the invention is to provide a hand brake especiallyadapted i'or railway cars wherein the tension cn the brake rigging isapplied in al well known manner by means of a pawl and ratchetingmechanism, the brake embodying means tor taking up the slack in thebrake chain rapidly and thereafter applying the tension to the brakechain more slowly but with a higher leverage ratio, the shift from thehigh speed low leverage ratio to the slow speed high leverage ratiobeing accomplished automatically without the necessity ot the brakemanoperating any special devices or changing his usual method of applyingthe brake. i

ln the drawing forming a .part of. this specification, Figure 1is lavertical sectional view of a vertical stall type of brake showing myimprovements in connection therewith. Parts of the mechanism are brokenaway in order to better accommodate the figure on the sheet. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 2-2 ofFig. 1, the operating lever and pawl in this figure being shown inhorizontal operative position. And Fig. 3 is a detail elevational viewof the double dog employed in my construction.

ln said drawing, 10 denotes a portion ot an end wall of a car to whichis secured a combined housing and bearing bracket 11., the latterlhaving suitable flanges 12--12 by which it may be riveted or otherwiserigidly secured to the car wall. Said bracket is provided with ahorizontally extending lower flange 13 having a relatively heavy bossl11i which is perforated so as to *form a hearing. The side walls of thehousing for the ratchetingmechanism and associated parts are formed byvertical outwardly extending spaced flanges 15-15 as shown in Fig. 2 andt e top of the'housing is completed by a cap Specification of LettersPatent.

,Patented July 5, 192ih ieao. semi ire'. erento. i

plate 16 adapted to be secured in place by a bolt and nut 17..

in carrying out my invention, l' employ a vertical brake s taii or mast18, the lower end .of which is journaled in a stirrup plate 19 asindicated ,at 20. rlhe upper end of the stati' 18 has a squared section21 on which is rigidly secured a combined bearing hub and ratchet wheel22, the teeth ot the ratchet wheel being indicated at 23 'and thebearing hub proper being indicated at 211. Preferably, the extreme upperend of the staff will have a cylindrical section 25 ot' reduced di- Yameter rotatable in a bearing provided by an upwardly extending grabhandle '26 formed integral with the cap plate 16.

lnclosing the. stad 18 is what, may be termed an auxiliary stall orsleeve of tubular formation indicated at 27, the lower end thereof beingjournaled in an opening 28 formed in an upper part of the stirrup plate19. ln this connection, it will be understood that the stirrup plate 19is Iattached to the en d sill or buffer beam of the car so as to bringthe lower ends of the sleeve 27 and stad' 18 below the licor level otthe car in the usual manner. rlhe upper end of the sleeve 27 may bethreaded as indicated at 29 so as to have attached thereto a bushingwhich is journaled in the recess 14e ot' the bearing bracket. 'lhebushing 30., above the bearing 1e, is provided with a laterallyeirtended annular Harige 31 which overlies a portion of the harige 13 ofthe bearing bracket 'and between said ange 31 and flange 13 areinterposed a series ot anti-friction bearing balls 32, the latterrunning in a raceway 33 'formed in the flange 13. ln this manner, thefriction normally tending to resist rotation of the sleeve 27 is reducedto a practical minimum -for the purposes hereinafter described.

Above the level ot the flange 31, the'bushing 30 is provided with aninterior journal bearing 34 tor the hub proper 24 so that the latter mayrotate therein under certain conditions as hereinafter described. Saidup-` per portion of the bushing 30 is also provided with a series otratchet teeth 35, the same having` a pitch diameter corresponding to thepitch diameter of the ratchet teeth 23. lt will be noted also that asupporting shoulder or ledge 36 is formed on the upper tace ot thebushing 30 to sustain the weight of the ratchet wheel andstaff 18 towhich it is rigidly attached. y

A portion of a bralre rod of the brake rigging is indicated at 37, thesame being Vforked and carrying a sheave wheel 38 over.

which extends a chain or equivalent ilegible connection 39. @ne end saidchain 39 is vattached to the sleeve 27 as indicated at 40 and theopposite end is attached to the stad' 18 as indicated at 41. With thisconstruction, upon simultaneous rotation of the stad' 18-and`sleeve 27,as hereinafter de. ribed, it evident that the will. be taken up veryrapidly since it will be winding about two members or, in enact, windingdrums, the diameter of the sleeve 27 being appreciably larger than thediameter of the sta 18 so that the takeaip for that corresponding end ofthe chain 39 will be unueually rapid. l j

.lo effect the application of the brake, l preferably employ a gravity.controlled pivoted drop handle 42 which carries a 4 spring controlledsliding pawl 43 at its upper end. Said operating lever or handle 42 ispivotally attached to a carrier 44 by means of a bolt 45. In actualpractice, the bolt 45 will pass through an elongated slot 46 in the pawl43 so as to prevent the latter from coming out of.. its correspondingsocket or guideway in the lever handle 42 while atA the same time.permitting its necessary reciprocation back and forth therein. Thecarrier 44 has a top flange 47 which tits under the cap plate 16 andwhich is journaled as indicated at 48 on the upper part ofthe ratchetwheel 22. Said carrier 44 preferably also has depending side flanges49-49 encircling the twosets of ratchet teeth 23 and 35 so a'stocomplete the housing for the mechanism and protect it from the weather.As will be understood kby those. skilled in the art, the operating lever42 which carries the pawl 43 will normally hang in a depending verticalposition with the pawl disengaged from the ratchet teeth y23 and when itis desired to operate the brake, the brakeman will elevate the lever 42'to a horizontal position as indicated in Fig. 2 and then proceed tooscillate it back and forth with the pawl 43 in engagement with theratchet teeth 23 so as to effect step by step rotation of the stad 18"in a winding dlrection.

To prevent unintentional reverse rotation of the staff 18, that is, inan unwinding direction, I provide a spring controlled pivoted dog 50which is pivoted on the bolt 17 and arranged to cooperate with theratchet teeth 23. I

To prevent unintentional reverse rotation of the sleeve 27, I provide asecond independently spring controlled pivoted dog 51, also mounted onthe bolt 17 below the dog 50 and which is arranged to cooperate with theratchet 'te-th 35. The dog 51 is provided also with a laterally extendedrelease handle -or lever 52 so as to permit of manual disthe ratchetteeth 23. With the construction described, itwill be observed that theupper deg 50 is adapted for outward movement, that is, to slip over theratchet teeth 23, independently and without adecting the d dog 51.

' The operation is as follows. When the liraheman starts to apply thebrake, he first el'evates the lever 42 and proceeds to oscillate it in ahorizontal plane which will cause roi tation of the upper ratchet wheelin a direction lto wind one end of the chain 39 around the staff 18. Dueto the fact that the weight of the staff 18 is sustained on the bushing30 the latter together with the sleeve 27 will rotate in unison with thestaff due to the friction where the weight of the one is transferred tothe other and because of the reduced friction between the flange 31carried by the sleeve and the bracket. This will obviously effect awinding of the upper end of the chain 39 about the sleeve 27 and thelower end about the staff 18, and the action described will continueduring the taking up of the slack in the chain and until such time asthe tension exerted on the chain will be sufficient to overcome thefriction between the sleeve bushing '30 and the staff ratchet 4wheel 22.As the brakeman continues his ratcheting action, the sleeve'27 will beheld against reverse rotation on account of the dog 51 and hence thecorrespondin end of the chain 39 will be held fixed. he staff 18,however, will continue to be rotated thereby continuing the vwinding ofthe corresponding end of the chain 39 about the sta 18 and very muchmultiplyin the effective leverage ratio that is ultimate y transformedinto a pull on the brake rod 37. Reverse rotation of the stati 18 isprevented by the dog 50, .as heretofore described. To release the brakeentirely, the operator merely actuates the dog lever 52 which willrelease both the 4sleeve and the staff simultaneously and thereby permitcomplete unwinding of both ends 0f the chain 39 from the sleeve 27 andstaff 18, respectively. This latter is of importance since it overcomesall possibility of one end of the chain being gradually taken up andwound unevenly on either the sleeve -or stati'.

From the preceding description, it will be seen that the brakemanapplies the brake throughout the entire operation in a well known mannerand he is not requiredto operate any separate devices or ive any thoughtthereto when the change trom the high speed low leverage ratio to theslow speed, high leverage ratio is automatically eifected. rlhe brake isfurthermore positive in its` action and affords a practical solution fora long desired brake which will quickly take up slack andv yet providethe necessary linal leverage ratio in putting on the brakes.

Although l have herein shown and described what l now consider thepreferred manner of carrying out the invention, the same is merelyillustrative and l contemplate all changes and modifications that comewithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

l claimt r l. In a hand brake' adapted for railway cars, the combinationwith a rotatable staff; of a concentric rotatable sleeve, said stad andsleeve being each adapted to have one end of a common flexibleconnection attached thereto and wound therearound, said staff beingsupported from said sleeve; a pawl and ratchet mechanism for effectingrotation of the staff directly and of the sleeveindirectly by reason ofthe friction arising from the staff being supported by the sleeve untilthe tension of said ilexible connection on the sleeve overbalances theeffect of the friction between the sleeve and staff; and independentlyactine devices for preventing rotation of the stattP and sleeve in anunwinding direction.

2. ln a hand brake for railway ears and thelike, the combination with abracket adapted to be secured to a wall of a car; of a sleeve rotatablymounted within and supported from said bracket and to which one end of aflexible connection is adapted to be attached and wound therearound; arotatable staff in frictional contact with said sleeve and to which theother end of said flexible connection is adapted to be attached andwound therearound; means for rotating the stati directl in a directionto wind the flexible connection therearound, said sleeve being rotatedin unison with the stall" under the frictional contact therewith untilthe tension of said flexible connection overcomes said friction;releasable means to prevent rotation of lsaid sleeve in`an unwindingdirection: and separate releasable means for preventing rotation of thestaff in an unwinding direction.

B. ln a hand brake of the character described. the combination with abracket adapted to be secured to the wall 0f a car or the like: of asleeve rotatably mounted in and supported by said bracket and to whichone end ot' a flexible connection is adapted to be attached and woundtherearound; a staff rotatably mounted within said sleeve and infrietional contact therewith, said staff being adapted to have theopposite end of said 'delaible connection attached thereto and woundytherearo'ind; manually releasable means to prevent rotation of saidsleeve in an unwinding direction; a natil wheel rigidly mounted on saidstaff; a 'carrier oscillatably mounted withgsespect to said staff apawl-carrying operating handle pivotally attached to the carrier andadapted to drop to a vertical inoperative position under the influenceof gravity, thepawl thereof being arranged to 'cbperate with saidratchet wheel when the handle is elevated; a dog coperable with saidratchet wheel and arranged to prevent rotation thereof and the staff inan unwind-r ing direction. v

e. ln a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with a brake. rodhaving a sheave wheel mounted thereon; of a bracket adapted to besecured to a wall of the car; a sleeve journaled in said b-racket'andsupported therefrom; a staff mounted within said sleeve and rotatablewith respect thereto, said staff and sleeve having frictional contact; aflexible connection passing oversaid sheave wheel and having one endthereof attached to said sleeve and the other end attached to the stattmeans for directly edecting rotation of said stall in a direction towind one end of the flexible connection therearound, said sleeve beingindirectly rotated kin the same direction by reason of the fric tionalcontact with the staff until the tension on said flexible connectionoverbalances the friction; and independently acting means for preventingrotation of the sleeve and statt1 in an unwinding direction.

5. ln a hand brake of the character described, the combination with abracket; of a sleeve rotatably mounted in said bracket, said sleevehaving an annular flange rigid witlrrespect thereto; anti-frictionbearings between said flange and the bracket sustaining the weight-ofthe sleeve; a staff disposed within said sleeve and supported thereby,said sleeve and staff being arranged to each have one end of a commonflexible connection attached thereto; means for rotating said statiindirectly therefrom; and independently acting means to prevent rotationof the sleeve and stall' in an unwinding direction. y

l6. In a hand brake of the character described, the combination withA abracket adapted to be secured to a wall of acar; of a sleeve rotatablymounted within and su ported from said bracket; a stall rotatablymounted within and supported fromsaid sleeve; a ratchet wheel on saidstall; an operating lever and pawl coperable with said ratchet wheel toeffect rotation of the staff in one direction; a dog coperable with saidratchet wheel to prevent reverse rotation of said staff; a ratchet wheelrotatable in unison with said sleeve; and a dog coperable withsaidsleeve and ratchet Wheel to prevent reverse rotation of the sleeve, oneof said dogs having a release handle and a shoulder coperable with theother dog to thereby elect simultaneous disengagement et a sleeverotatably mounted Within said bracket; an anti-friction bearinginterposed betvveenl said sleeve and bracket and by which the Weight ofthe sleeve is sustained; a ratchet wheel Icarried by said sleeve; astaff disposed Within said sleevesaid staff having a ratchet Wheel atits upper end Supported on and rotatable with respect to the sleeve; acarrier osciliatable With respect to the last named ratchet wheel; acombined operating lever and paWl pivotally attached to the carrier andadapted to coperatie 'with the sta ratchet Wheel to eect rotationthereof di rectly, the sleeve being indirectlyv rotated vtherefrom byreason of the friction therebetween Where the steli is supported. by thesleeve; a brake rod having a sheave Wheel thereon; a flexible connectionpassing over said sheave Wheel and lhaving one end thereof attached tothe sleeve and the otherend thereof attached to the staff andindependently acting spring controlled dogs coper able with said tvvoratchet wheels, the dog coperable With the ratchet Wheel of the sleevehaving a release handle and means for effecting disengagement of theother dog upon release of the dog coperable with the sleeve ratchetWheel.

In Witness that l claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto subscribed myname.

A JOHN F. OCONNOR Witness:

PAULINE M. MEBRIGK.

